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Don’t break my heart.

Don’t break my heart. Remember that fundraising is always personal. You might think I’m writing about the one that got away. The donor we courted and counted on. And then disappeared. We’ve all been there, right? It’s frustrating… sometimes, it breaks your heart. But today I’m writing as a donor. And about communications that reduce […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications, Thanks Tagged With: appeal writing, communication, donor retention, Donors, emotion, Fundraising, thank you letters 1 Comment

Are you assimilated?

Anyone of a certain age or entertainment preference will recognize the Borg. For the rest of you, let me explain a little. In Star Trek, the Borg is one of the most dangerous foes our heroes have to deal with. To quote Wikipedia’s entry: The Borg are a collection of species that have been turned into cybernetic organisms functioning […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal writing, Borg, Donors, emotion, Fundraising 5 Comments

Have you ditched your annual appeal yet?

Here’s why you should ditch that annual appeal I just emailed a letter, response form, and list to the mail house. Our base tends to be generous at this time of year. (Yours probably is, too.) There’s a lot riding on this appeal, and I’ve spent many hours on my offer, my story, my response […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Planning Tagged With: annual appeal, appeal, appeal writing, direct mail, donor, fundraising appeal 4 Comments

Essential components of your fundraising appeal

Your fundraising appeal needs a strong case You must have a compelling, urgent problem the donor can help solve. You need an emotional story People make giving decisions with their emotions. Stories are the best way to ignite those emotions. Tell a story. Go ahead and use some statistics – they can help support the […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal, appeal writing, fundraising appeal 3 Comments

7 words and phrases that should die

You know what happens when someone tells you not to think about a pink elephant? Suddenly you can’t get that creature out of your mind, right? Something similar seems to be happening to me as I think and write about writing. My jargon-o-meter is on high alert these days. So, for a little fun, here […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal writing, Donors, jargon 27 Comments

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Recent Posts

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